List of National Football League career passing completions leaders
This is the top 50 National Football League quarterbacks career total regular season pass completions. Only three have less than 2,500 passes.
NFL lists |
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Drew Brees leads with 7,142 completions. Tom Brady leads in passing attempts with 10,598.
Regular season completions leaders

Drew Brees is the all-time completions leader. He had held the record for career pass attempts for the first eleven weeks of the 2020 season, when Tom Brady surpassed it.

Tom Brady is the all-time pass attempts leader.
^ | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
* | Denotes player who is still active |
Through end of 2020 season.
Playoff leaders
Through start of Super Bowl LV of 2020 playoffs.[1] At least 250 completions.
Most completions and attempts, including playoff games
Bold indicates player active; minimum 10K attempts/6K completions.
1 | Tom Brady | 7,863 | 12,333 | 63.76 |
2 | Drew Brees | 7,623 | 11,272 | 67.63 |
3 | Brett Favre | 6,781 | 10,960 | 61.87 |
4 | Peyton Manning | 6,774 | 10,407 | 65.09 |
Historical passing completions leaders
Eight players are recognised as having held the record as the NFL's career pass completions leader.[2] The longest record holder was Fran Tarkenton who held the record for 20 years.

"Slinging Sammy" Baugh, the Texas Christian U. star was rated as one of the greatest of his generation.

Y A Tittle retired as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, and games played

Johnny Unitas won an NFL title in the 1950s and a Super Bowl in the 1970s.

Fran Tarkenton about to throw a forward pass (1965)

Brett Favre had held the record from 2006 to 2018, when it was broken by Drew Brees. He had also held the record for career pass attempts from 2008 to 2020, when Brees surpassed it.
Reign | Player | Team(s) while leader | Career completions | Season |
---|---|---|---|---|
1932–1940 (9 years) | Arnie Herber^ [3] | Green Bay Packers | 37 | 1932 |
87 | 1933 | |||
129 | 1934 | |||
169 | 1935 | |||
246 | 1936 | |||
293 | 1937 | |||
315 | 1938 | |||
372 | 1939 | |||
410 | 1940 | |||
1941–1959 (19 years) | Sammy Baugh^ [4] | Washington Redskins | 414 | 1941 |
546 | 1942 | |||
670 | 1943 | |||
761 | 1944 | |||
889 | 1945 | |||
976 | 1946 | |||
1,186 | 1947 | |||
1,371 | 1948 | |||
1,516 | 1949 | |||
1,606 | 1950 | |||
1,673 | 1951 | |||
1,693 | 1952–1959 | |||
1960–1968 (9 years) | Y. A. Tittle^ [5] | San Francisco 49ers (1960) New York Giants (1961–1964) | 1,696 | 1960 |
1,859 | 1961 | |||
2,059 | 1962 | |||
2,280 | 1963 | |||
2,427 | 1964–1968 | |||
1969–1974 (6 years) | Johnny Unitas^ [6] | Baltimore Colts (1969–1972) San Diego Chargers (1973) | 2,450 | 1969 |
2,616 | 1970 | |||
2,708 | 1971 | |||
2,796 | 1972 | |||
2,830 | 1973–1974 | |||
1975–1994 (20 years) | Fran Tarkenton^ [7] | Minnesota Vikings | 2,931 | 1975 |
3,186 | 1976 | |||
3,341 | 1977 | |||
3,686 | 1978–1994 | |||
1995–2005 (11 years) | Dan Marino^ [8] | Miami Dolphins | 3,913 | 1995 |
4,134 | 1996 | |||
4,453 | 1997 | |||
4,763 | 1998 | |||
4,967 | 1999–2005 | |||
2006–2017 (12 years) | Brett Favre^ [9] | Green Bay Packers (2006–2007) New York Jets (2008) Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010) | 5,021 | 2006 |
5,377 | 2007 | |||
5,720 | 2008 | |||
6,083 | 2009 | |||
6,300 | 2010–2017 | |||
Since 2018 (3 years) | Drew Brees [10] | New Orleans Saints | 6,586 | 2018 |
6,867 | 2019 | |||
7,142 | 2020 |
Notes
- Collins was traded during the 1998 season; he played four games for the Panthers and seven for the Saints.
- DeBerg was cut during the 1993 season; he played three games for the Buccaneers and five for the Dolphins.
See also
- Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)
- List of National Football League career passing yards leaders
- List of National Football League career passing touchdowns leaders
- List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics
- National Football League records (individual)
References
- "NFL Passes Completed Career Playoffs Leaders". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- "NFL Passes Completed Career Leaders". PFR.
- "Arnie Herber stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Sammy Baugh stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Y.A. Tittle". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
- "Johnny Unitas stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Fran Tarkenton stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Dan Marino stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Brett Favre stats". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Drew Brees stats". PFRef.com. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
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